Cricket: Life without Vaughan

ENGLAND must plan without Michael Vaughan as they seek to regain some lost ground in their injured captain's absence when they take on Pakistan in a five-match limited-overs series starting this weekend.

ENGLAND must plan without Michael Vaughan as they seek to regain some lost ground in their injured captain's absence when they take on Pakistan in a five-match limited-overs series starting this weekend.

Vaughan, back in England to await the birth of his second child following his team's 2-0 Test series defeat, is to have an operation on the knee cartilage problem which has hampered his whole tour and threatens to become an occupational hazard if a solution cannot be found soon.

It was confirmed only yesterday, on the eve of England's one-day warm-up match against Pakistan A at Bagh-e-Jinnah, that Vaughan - who returned home at the conclusion of the final-Test innings-and-100-run defeat at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday - is to have keyhole surgery to try to discover the extent of the injury in his right knee.

A scenario including an arthroscopic assessment in the near future - followed by the possibility of further surgery, depending on what is found - will have come as a surprise to no-one in the England camp.

But at least it means Marcus Trescothick, in limbo up until yesterday as to whether he would be leading his country again as he did when Vaughan was out of last month's first Test with the same injury, can finally give the job his full attention.

Vaughan regrets missing a series in which England need an encouraging performance to avoid ending a glorious 2005 on a significant downer, after their comprehensive Test defeat.

"I'm disappointed to be missing the one-day matches against Pakistan, but surgery really in the only option for me at the moment," he said, after a specialist consultation on Monday.

England's chief medical officer Dr Peter Gregory revealed the captain has continued to suffer discomfort in the knee, even though he was able to play in the second and third Tests - and Vaughan and his employers are already mindful of a tight timetable to rectify his problem and allow sufficient opportunity for rehabilitation before the next sub-continental assignment in India.

"I hope I can make a full recovery in time for the tour to India in the early stages of next year," said Vaughan, who will be heartened to hear Dr Gregory is still confident on that score.

Trescothick can also take heart from the return yesterday of his opening partner Andrew Strauss - back after missing the final Test for the birth of his first child in England and surely therefore the last of a series of unsettling comings and goings from senior players on this tour.

Vaughan's unavailability could open the door, meanwhile, to flashy batsman Vikram Solanki - a player who may be in line for the dubious distinction of becoming one of the first to wear the label of 'specialist supersub', having filled that role three times for his country in last year's NatWest Challenge matches against Australia.

The Worcestershire captain has every right, given his pedigree strokeplay, to aspire to a higher echelon as an international player - but he is not about to turn down any opportunity to represent his country.

"I am pretty pleased with any involvement in the England set-up. It is fantastic to be here as part of the squad," said Solanki.

"If it is just as part of a squad and on stand-by then fine; if that is as a 'specialist supersub' then that's fine as well."